


Happy with Him

by lilacsandlavender



Series: Enola Holmes One-Shots [1]
Category: Enola Holmes (2020)
Genre: Gen, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:40:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27308599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilacsandlavender/pseuds/lilacsandlavender
Summary: Enola Holmes finds a surprise visitor in her room, and they have a chat about her friendship with Tewkesbury.
Relationships: Enola Holmes & Eudoria Vernet Holmes, Enola Holmes/Viscount "Tewky" Tewksbury
Series: Enola Holmes One-Shots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1993813
Comments: 4
Kudos: 139





	Happy with Him

**Author's Note:**

> For some reason, it occured to me that Eudoria might not like the idea of Enola seeing someone of nobility, so I wanted to see what I could do with that idea. Enjoy!

The boarding house’s main door slammed shut as Enola Holmes scrambled inside to escape the cold winter air of London, England. The noise wasn’t a consequence of her being upset - in fact, she was quite the opposite - but instead was the work of the harsh wind of late December.

“Hello, Ms. Edwards,” the 16 year-old girl said breathlessly to the owner of her living establishment, breezing past the middle-aged woman and towards the main floor kitchen table to set down the large gift basket filled with goodies clasped tightly in her frostbitten hands (or so they felt likewise; Enola now scolded herself for putting off purchasing winter gloves for so long).

The only light of the room originated from the roaring fireplace since it got dark out now as early as 5 pm, and Enola caught the quizzical look on the older woman’s face. “It’s from Lady Tewkesbury, her son, and the rest of their family,” she explained while taking off her scarf and unbuttoning her coat to put in the cloakroom. “They insisted that I give it to you as a holiday gift and won’t take no for an answer.”

Ms. Edwards was a woman of little words and emotion, and most of the time Enola couldn’t tell what she was feeling, but she thought saw a ghost of a smile dance across her face face as she peered inside the basket.

“Well, tell them ‘thank you’ next time you’re over there.”

How it was implied that Enola would be visiting the House of Tewkesbury again - and soon - made Enola bite the inside of her lip from smiling, though the faint pink tint on her face that wasn’t from the frosty weather was noticeable.

She made short yet definite bi-weekly visits to the marquess, and the only reason Ms. Edwards knew was because she had caught Enola slipping inside the house at nearly midnight a month ago. She wasn’t in the habit of poking her nose in her tennants’ business and knew Enola did detective work, but the secrecy and bright grin surrounding the situation had made her confront her. The teen must have been caught off-guard, too caught up in emotions perhaps, that she’d let her landlord in on her secret. So now, though the two never spoke of the incident again, there was a mutual understanding of where Enola had been when she came back to the housing lodge with that same silly grin that replaced her usual calm and collected demeanor.

“You have a visitor waiting for you in your room,” Ms. Edwards noted out loud just as Enola started to ascend the staircase leading to her room.

Enola glanced back, perplexed. She never got visitors because she never told anyone where she lived. “Thank you!” she called back before resuming her steps and mentally started crossing off names of potential suspects.

It wouldn’t be Tewkesbury; she’d just seen him. She knew her brothers wouldn’t come for her, at least she didn’t think so. No, Mycroft would have sent someone to fetch her if that were the case, and he didn’t have a reason to now that she was under Sherlock’s care. Sherlock would have sent her an encrypted message to meet somewhere if he needed her...unless it was an urgent matter. Her heart skipped a beat of worry at the thought before she remembered that he was out of town on some case that was in last week’s paper. That could only leave one person.

Eudoria Holmes had her back turned to the door when Enola came in but turned around to face her daughter almost immediately.

“Mother! What are you doing here?” Eudoria didn’t visit her youngest child very often, but when she did, she usually had some interesting tidbits of news from her travelings.

Enola watched her mother smile good-naturedly. “Can’t a mother visit her children on Christmas Eve?” She reached into her pocket and held an object out. Enola took it and began unwrapping the silver paper, but not before she set a rectangular box on her dresser.

“This is really beautiful,” Enola commented as she shook the snow-globe in order to see the ‘snow’ fall around the miniature replica of London. “Is this to celebrate my first winter in London?” She looked up at her parent, but Eudoria’s eyes were fixed on what Enola had placed on the dresser.

“What is that?” Eudoria’s curiosity (that Enola had inherited) along with the history of their close relationship had Eudoria reaching for the box without hesitation, and before Enola could move, she was opening it and peering inside the lengthy interior.

Enola replied, “It’s just a container.” She prayed for that to be the end of the conversation but was out of luck.

“What for? Who gave this to you?” It was less of an accusation and more of a surprised inquiry, and one could hardly blame Eudoria because it was obvious that the object in question was the most fancy, elegant, and expensive looking item in Enola’s plain room. Enola’s mother also knew her daughter would not have spent such lavish money on a “container.” She wasn’t superficial like that.

Sighing, Enola realized it would be useless to lie to her mother since she knew her so well, and what would be the point in lying anyways? “It’s for keeping flowers.” Then, after a heartbeat, “It’s from Viscount Tewkesbury, Marquess of Basilwether.” She wasn’t sure why she had said Tewkesbury’s full title, especially now that they were on a first name basis, but it seemed more formal, and the less she had to share with her mother about her friendship - friendship?? Was it something more? Enola wasn’t sure - with the Viscount the better. Sure, she and Eudoria had always been close, but Enola wasn’t convinced that she wanted her mother to know about her potential love life. Not just yet.

Eudoria looked unconvinced. Setting the box back down she murmured, “Oh, yes. The marquess.” Something in her voice made Enola uneasy. She didn’t sound very pleased.

“Is there something wrong with that?”

“No, no,” Eudoria waved dismissively with one hand. “It’s just that Sherlock tells me you’ve grown a fancy for the boy, that’s all.”

Enola stared in shock. Since when did Sherlock keep such close tabs on her? She felt a streak of annoyance that her brother had not only been spying on her, but also tattled on her to their mother. The streak manifested itself in self-assuredness: “Well, there’s nothing wrong with that either.”

“I should hope not.”

“What does that mean?” Enola shot back more sharply than she meant to sound, but she couldn’t come up with one reason why Tewkesbury wasn’t someone good to be around. He was sweet and caring and didn’t have an image issue like most of the self-absorbed royalty folk of London. So she felt compelled to defend him.

Eudoria gave Enola a stare and sigh of her own. “I just don’t want you to get too comfortable. I would hate to see all my hard work in making you a strong, independent woman unravel from being around the noble class.” She scrunched up her nose in distaste at the mention of nobility.

Enola’s mouth was slightly agape in shock and in incredulousness at her mother’s words. She said in defense of herself, “Do you really think that I’m going for forget jujitsu or physics just because I’m acquaintances with the Tewkesburys? Do you think I’ll become a snob of society? Do you really see so little in me? Have so little faith in me?”

“What? No, that’s ridiculous.” Eudoria snapped, openly frowning at her daughter. “I just don’t think you should be spending so much time with that boy.”

A thought struck Enola cold. “Are...are you jealous? Are you jealous that I’m spending so much time with Viscount Tewkesbury?” She took a step closer to close the gap between them.

Eudoria threw up her hands in exasperation and exclaimed, “No, Enola!”

“Then why?!”

They were volleying off each other like how they used to during tennis matches in their house.

“Just because.”

That was the tipping point. Enola gritted her teeth together. As a detective, just because was never a sufficient answer for her, and she knew her mother knew that and felt the same way. “I think you are jealous,” she accused. “And you know what?” Her voice was steadily on the rise. “You wouldn’t have to be jealous of some flower-loving boy who can sew better than I can taking up my free time if you hadn’t abandoned me four months ago with no warning! Not that any of your visits are necessarily long social calls.” She gestured to the coat still lingering on Eudoria.

Enola was aware that she’d probably hit a soft spot. She and her mother knew that she knew Eudoria’s progressive work was very important and pretty top-secret, which in turn demanded all of Eudoria’s attention and left her scarce. She clamped her mouth shut in surprise of herself and blinked, waiting for her mother’s next move.

But Eudoria just sighed, shoulders dropping in not necessarily defeat but something closely related, sat down on the edge of Enola’s bed, and patted the spot next to her.

“It’s not about that,” she said softly.

Enola seated herself next to her mother and held her breath, not sure what she was getting at.

“I’m not jealous that the Viscount is someone you visit often. I’m actually glad you’re getting out more. If anything, I’m jealous for your heart.”

Enola looked more confused than before, so her mother elaborated: “It’s always had been just you and I, and I suppose that with your fiercely independent nature, I never really considered the chance that you might someday be interested in love. In the romantic sense, I mean. But what really scares me is the idea that someone out there will love you in a way that I can’t, and I don’t want that person to hurt you if it doesn’t work out. And you know based on my work what I think about nobility....”

A tight feeling squeezed Enola in the chest at her mother’s words. She felt overwhelmed at what she’d just been told, but it wasn’t an unwelcome emotion. Giving her mother’s hand a replica squeeze, Enola assured her, “Tewkesbury isn’t like that. He’s the kindest person I’ve met in London, along with Edith of course, and his heart is in the right place at the right times. He saved me from the horrid boarding school Mycroft tried to lock me up in, and he voted for more votes from the people on the latest Reform Bill.”

Eudoria let out a chuckle. “That’s good to hear. I know I said that you’d do well on your own, but you know I’m always here watching out for you, whether you’re aware or not, right?” When Enola smiled to confirm that yes, the two would always be close even when apart, Eudoria had to ask one last thing.

“And...you’re comfortable in his presence? You enjoy your time spent together?”

Enola couldn’t help but smile at the memory formed just an hour ago of her and and Tewkesbury exchanging Christmas gifts, since the following day there was to be a Christmas ball at the Basilwether estate. What a difference it was compared to their first memory together!

“Yes, mother,” she said, trying to suppress her growing grin. “I’m happy with him. Truly.”

“Well I guess that’s all I need to hear. For now.” Eudoria cast her youngest a amused, faux expression of sternness and stood up. “You’re the first out of the three people I needed to see on Christmas Eve, so I better get going. Lord knows Mycroft probably goes to bed at 9:00.”

Enola saw her mother out, but not before Eudoria wrapped her in a sudden hug. Neither were really prepared for it, but when Eudoria pulled her daughter in and whispered, “I will try to make an effort to visit more often, Enola”, Enola couldn’t help but be incredibly grateful that their short time together had ended like this, in peace, and not in hostility.

Tewkesbury and my mother’s company on the same day, she thought after her mother had left. It really is the best first Christmas in London after all.


End file.
